Yeah the media really picked up on that one quote and ran with it. If anyone does any research whatsoever they'd know that was taken out of context.
Additionally, we suffer from moral relativism, so it's oh so easy for us to say what was right and wrong.
I've personally read over 10,000 letters TR sent as research for a massive project, and you know what? Never, in any of those letters, did he say anything whatsoever about natives. But he did say and advocate for the following:
Protecting massive swaths of land
The list goes on and on. So go ahead, craft your entire reality on a single quote that was taken out of context for one of, if not the best, president the country has ever had.
Somehow he's done all that, over 100 years ago I might add, and still, still people can't get over a single quote. By the way, he worked closely with natives in Brazil and had nothing but good things to say about them... but you know, he's white so he's instantly evil.